von EINEM Samuel Philip

Classification
TT11 (ipttc.org, 01 Apr 2020)

Type of Impairment
Intellectual impairment (ittf.com, 05 Sep 2020)

Impairment Details
"I always knew I had learning difficulties but when I was 15, I was told I had an intellectual impairment from autism." (ittf.com, 05 Sep 2020)

General
ENDING AUSTRALIA'S MEDAL WAIT
He became the first Australian table tennis player to win a medal at either the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games in 32 years when he claimed silver at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "It was a huge achievement and my career highlight to date [speaking in 2020]. I really wanted to win gold that day, and that has motivated me to become a better athlete over the last four years. Rio was an incredible experience and particularly amazing because it was my first Paralympic Games. Going into Rio, I was ranked sixth in my class so I wasn't expected to get as far as I did. I was competitive but I was also there to gain crucial international experience, in a totally different environment. When you get into a gold medal play-off though, you find yourself really wanting to win it but I was still very happy to come home with a medal. I hope that I can come home with one better next time." (ittf.com, 05 Sep 2020; tabletennis.org.au, 22 Feb 2017)

His silver medal in the TT11 singles event at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was Australia's first medal in table tennis at either the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games for 32 years. (tabletennis.org.au, 22 Feb 2017; ittf.com, 05 Sep 2020; SportsDeskOnline, 15 Apr 2021)